SUTTON, Charles Arthur
| Service Number: | 2903 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 9th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Gayndah, North Burnett, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 20 June 1918, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Brisbane Albert Street Uniting Church Honour Roll, Corinda Sherwood Shire Roll of Honor, Graceville War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2903, 9th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ayrshire embarkation_ship_number: A33 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2903, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ayrshire, Sydney | |
| 20 Jun 1918: | Involvement Sergeant, 2903, 9th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2903 awm_unit: 9th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Sergeant awm_died_date: 1918-06-20 |
Help us honour Charles Arthur Sutton's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Charles Sutton was born in March 1890 at Samford. At age 21 he joined the Queensland Police Force and served mainly at Esk and Yarraman before resigning in March 1914. On 8th June 1915, Charles married Julia Agnes in the Albert Street Uniting Church. Just 6 days later, Charles enlisted and was drafted into the reinforcements for the 9th Battalion. At the time of his enlistment Charles stated his occupation as farmer and his age as 25 years. Charles named his new wife as next of kin but they obviously had not had time to find a home as Julia’s address was given as C/- Mrs Carr, Bacon Factory (Foggitt Jones Bacon Factory) Oxley.
The reinforcements were transported to Sydney by train where they boarded the “Ayrshire” on 3rd September 1915 and set sail for Egypt. By the time Charles arrived in Egypt, the bulk of the AIF had been withdrawn from Gallipoli and were now in camp around Cairo undergoing expansion and reinforcing before being deployed to the western front. While in camp, Charles was promoted to corporal. The 9th Battalion arrived in Marseilles on 3rd April 1916.
In July 1916, Haig (Supreme British Commander on the Western Front) launched the Somme offensive. Casualties were enormous but Haig was determined to keep up the pressure. Three of the four Australian divisions in France were deployed to the Somme. (The other division, the 5th had already suffered a mauling at Fromelles). The Australians were to go into their first major action at Pozieres. During the 1st Division’s assault on the village of Pozieres, Charles was wounded in a rather delicate place, but after a month convalescing he was able to rejoin his unit.
Charles was wounded on a second occasion at Flers in December 1916. He received severe shrapnel wounds to his right leg and was evacuated to hospital in England for surgery. After spending time in a convalescent depot and the 3rd Training Battalion at Codford, Charles rejoined his unit which was engaged in the final stages of the battle of Passchendaele in Flanders.
In May 1918 Charles was sent off to a short course army school and upon his return was promoted to temporary sergeant. On 20th June 1918, it was reported that Charles had been killed in action near Albert on the Somme. There are no Red Cross reports to shed any light on the circumstances of his death and the Australian War memorial lists him as being buried at the Australian National Memorial at Villers Bretonneux.
By the time of Charles’ death, Julia had moved to Grantham. She requested an inscription for his headstone but it was too long. Inscriptions had to be 66 characters or less; including spaces. There is no record that she amended the text.
Courtesy of Ian Lang
Mango Hill